Anti-Infective Agents - Volume 21, Issue 4, 2023

Background: Carica Papaya L. is widely cultivated for food and traditional medicine throughout the World due to its rich source of bioactive compounds in its fruit, leaves, latex and stem.Objective: The aim of this work was to assess the physicochemical properties, and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of oils extracted from papaya seeds, fruit pulp and rind using the solvent extraction method. Methods: Hexane mediated extraction of oil was made. Then, physicochemical properties of the oil extracts were based on the determination of oil yield, specific gravity, acid value, free fatty acid and peroxide value, while the antioxidant activities were conducted based on ascorbic acid content, DPPH and hydrogen peroxide free radical scavenging activities. The antimicrobial experiment was conducted based on disc diffusion and broth dilution methods. Results: The result of physicochemical properties of papaya seeds, pulp and rind oil extracts demonstrated significantly the highest oil yield (42.50%) and specific gravity (0.85) obtained for seed oil. Significantly the highest DPPH (19.35%), and hydrogen peroxide scavenging activities (32.45%) were recorded for seed oil extract. The strongest antibacterial activity with maximum zone of inhibition (18.50 mm), minimum inhibitory concentration MIC (0.03 μg/mL) and minimum bactericidal concentration MBC (0.05 μg/mL) were recorded for seed oil extract against S. pyogenes. However, the strongest antifungal activity with maximum zone of inhibition (16.75 mm), MIC (0.05 μg/mL) and MFC (0.10 μg/mL) against C. albicans was recorded for rind oil extract against C. albicans. Conclusion: It can be concluded from the result of this study that seed oil was found to have antioxidant and antibacterial potential but fruit rind oil extract was the most effective antifungal in papaya.

Background: Molecular docking study is used significantly in the drug discovery process for predicting the interaction between drug and receptor. This technique has been used commonly to identify the binding affinity and orientation of drug molecules at the binding site of the target. The main objectives of docking studies include accurate modeling of molecular structure and precise prediction of the biological activity of the drug molecules.Methods: Based on this concept, a series of 2-amino-6-(substituted phenyl)-4-oxo-4,5- dihydropyrimidine-5-carbonitrile derivatives have been designed and synthesized via multicomponent reaction. The synthetic protocol involves the one-pot, three-component reaction between equimolar quantities of substituted benzaldehydes, ethyl cyanoacetate, and guanidine in an ethanolic sodium hydroxide solution.Results: The characterization of the titled compounds was carried out by assessing infrared spectroscopy (IR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR), and mass spectrometry (MS) data. The synthesized compounds were screened for their in vitro anti-mycobacterial activity by using the luciferase reporter phage (LRP) assay method.Conclusion: The determination of anti-mycobacterial activity was carried out in terms of the percent reduction in the relative light unit (RLU). The test compounds displayed significant activity against Mycobacterium strain H37Rv in comparison to isoniazid as a standard drug.

The article entitled “Analytical Method Development and Validation for Determination of Assay of Antibacterial Drugs Besifloxacin Hydrochloride and Phenoxyethanol in Gel Formulation”, by Pradeep Kundu, Neelam Pawar, Neha Minocha and Asha Poonia, published in Anti-Infective Agents 2023; 21(4): e310323215342. https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/2211352521666230331111623. The corresponding author of this article submitted it simultaneously to the "journal Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry" of Walsh Medical Media publishers and to the journal of "Anti-Infective Agents" of Bentham Science Publishers. Therefore, the article has been retracted due to the unethical practice of the author and during plagiarism checking with a previously published article titled: Analytical Method Development and Validation for the Determination of Assay of Antibacterial Drugs Besifloxacin Hydrochloride and Phenoxyethanol in Gel Formulation. Biochem Anal Biochem. 11:426. doi: 10.35248/2161-1009.22.11.426 The authors were informed of this submission and were suggested to give justification on the matter in their defense. Instead of sending justification, the corresponding author Dr. Neelam Pawar suggested Bentham Science Publishers to retract this article. Bentham Science apologizes to the readers of the journal for any inconvenience this may have caused. The Editorial Policy of Bentham Science Publishers on Article Retraction can be found at the link https://benthamscience.com/editorial-policies-main.php. BENTHAM SCIENCE DISCLAIMER: It is a condition of publication that manuscripts submitted to this journal have not been published and will not be simultaneously submitted or published elsewhere. Furthermore, any data, illustration, structure or table that has been published elsewhere must be reported, and copyright permission for reproduction must be obtained. Plagiarism is strictly forbidden, and by submitting the article for publication, the authors agree that the publishers have the legal right to take appropriate action against the authors if plagiarism or fabricated information is discovered. By submitting a manuscript, the authors agree that the copyright of their article is transferred to the publishers if and when the article is accepted for publication.

Background: Molnupiravir is a ribonucleoside analog and exhibits its antiviral mechanism by inhibiting replication. Preclinical studies have been reported that support the role of Molnupiravir towards the prophylaxis, cure, and prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition to it, clinical studies have confirmed its activity against the most common variants of SARSCoV- 2.Objective: The manuscript aims to demonstrate the rationale behind the clinical use of Molnupiravir in the treatment of COVID-19 infection at the early stage of the onset of symptoms specific to five days.Methodology: A thorough literature search has been carried out using various suitable keywords to extract details on the antiviral mechanism, preclinical, and clinical use of Molnupiravir, its safety, tolerability, dosage, duration of treatment, etc.Results: The reported studies demonstrate the antiviral action of Molnupiravir by viral error catastrophe mechanism which results in the inhibition of the viral multiplication activity when it enters inside the host cells. The manuscript delivers complete detail regarding pharmacokinetic and pharmacological actions, usage, and various preclinical and clinical studies reported for this newly evaluated drug for the treatment of COVID-19 infection.Conclusion: The study concludes Molnupiravir has the potential in the treatment of COVID-19 infection. When used along with vaccines, it would be a low-cost, valuable, and incredible asset as an oral anti-COVID drug for saving human life.

Introduction: Cancer and diabetes are proving to be lethal to human society and have attracted attention of researchers around the world. Synthesis of mixed ligand complexes is a challenging area owing to their potential applications as drugs against various diseases.Methods: Synthesis and biological evaluation of mixed ligand complexes of Vanadium(IV) with heterocyclic bidentate molecule 8-hydroxyquinoline as primary ligand and L-Amino acids such as L-cysteine, L-alanine, L-phenylalanine, L-threonine and L-serine as secondary ligands is reported here. All the complexes were characterized using IR, electronic, Mass, TGA/DTA method, powder XRD analysis, molar conductance and magnetic susceptibility measurements and were screened for their biological activities.Results: The synthesized mixed ligand complexes were screened for their antibacterial activity against E. coli and antifungal activity against C. albicans. They were also evaluated for in vitro antidibetic activity, anticancer activity against HepG2 (human liver cancer cell line) by MTT assay.Conclusion: The synthesized mixed ligand complexes were thermally stable, paramagnetic, nonelectrolytic in nature and proposed to have square pyramidal geometry. They also exhibited potential as antibacterial, anticancer and antidibetic agents.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is imposing an alarming public health threat in regard to the irrational use of the currently available antibiotics and the lack of new antimicrobials.Objective: The current study aims to comparatively investigate the antimicrobial potential and phytochemical compositions of citrus peel essential oils (EOs) and phenolic compounds (PCs) as an approach to combat life-threatening bacterial and fungal infections.Methods: Citrus EOs and PCs were extracted from Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus reshni, Citrus latifolia and Citrus paradisi peels and phytochemically characterized by GC-MS and HPLC, respectively. The antimicrobial potential of citrus peel EOs and PCs was tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium and Candida albicans using disc diffusion and broth microdilution assays.Results: The compositional analysis of citrus peel EOs revealed that limonene was the major volatile constituent, comprising 81.38%, 79.39%, 76.40% and 52.35% of grapefruit, mandarin, orange and lemon EOs, respectively. In addition, naringenin was the most abundant PC in grapefruit, orange and mandarin peel methanolic extracts, whereas catechin was the major PC in lemon peel. Lemon EO displayed the highest inhibitory effects against the investigated Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as Candida albicans. Moreover, mandarin PCs exhibited the highest antibacterial effects, while orange PCs displayed the highest anticandidal effects. Furthermore, Gram-positive bacteria displayed higher sensitivity to both citrus peel EOs and PCs.Conclusion: Citrus peel extracts possess versatile bioactive compounds that can be utilized as promising antimicrobial candidates.

Gut or intestinal microbiota inhabit our body and are well nurtured by the body's ambiance of its preference. Gut microorganisms include bacteria, archae, and fungi that primarily inhabit the digestive tracts of animals. Bacteria like Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium lactis Bb12 have been studied on a wide scale for their potential therapeutic applications. These bacteria are used as probiotics, most often as dietary supplements. They increase the population of the gut microbiota required for normal metabolic activities of the body. Recently, efforts have been made to analyze the effects of these probiotics and gut microbiota in the treatment of various diseases in children. In recent years, research has been conducted to investigate the effects of probiotics and microbiota in the gut on the prevention and treatment of a wide range of childhood disorders. Studies have been carried out to investigate the gut microbiota's effects on the function of beta cells in children recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. In this review article, a few applications and research of microbiota on children have been highlighted.

A large number of antibiotics are easily accessible for the treatment of various microbial infections. However, antibiotic resistance has become a major concern to public health across the globe. Carbazole derivatives are present in carbazomycins, an unprecedented class of antibiotics showing potential antibacterial activities. As reported in the literature, carbazole derivatives also possess significant antimicrobial activities against bacterial resistance, such as Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The antimicrobial profile of carbazole derivatives has been achieved through various bacterial pathways. Carbazole hybrids based on the multi-target direct ligand (MTDL) approach were also extensively studied as they exhibited significant antibacterial activities. This article reviews antimicrobial potential, docking analysis, and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies of carbazole and its derivatives against tested bacterial strains from 2014 to 2022. This review can also be helpful for investigators in the design and development of new molecules based on carbazole structure against various resistant bacterial infections.